


Children

by alissabobissa



Category: Lost
Genre: Gen, James is charming AF, Post-Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-08
Updated: 2019-09-08
Packaged: 2020-10-12 14:48:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20566139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alissabobissa/pseuds/alissabobissa
Summary: “James,” he said sticking out his hand.“Rachel,” she replied, clasping his hand. “And you already meat Julian.”“Julian?” He seemed to get a nostalgic look on face. “It’s a good name.”





	Children

**Author's Note:**

> Set post-series and written in 2010. For cynthia_arrow and her love of a reformed Southern con man.

Her son kicked the ball across the grass and it rolled on and on as if pulled by magnet held by the tall blonde man whose feet it came to rest before. Instead of kicking it back, the man picked it up and carried it over to her son. She watched from her park bench as Julian took the ball and talked with the man for a moment before jogging away to bounce the ball off of his head.   
  
Just as she was smiling at her son’s apparent good manners, she let her eyes drift over to catch the gaze of the kind stranger. He was standing there showing off dimples that were almost indecent on a man his age. Rachel reddened and had to look away when he didn’t break his stare. As he started in her direction, she silently thanked whatever force helped her remember to put on her sunglasses this morning; those brilliant devices couldn’t betray that her eyes were the size of saucers. Fearing the pretense of looking through her bag for something was flimsy at best, she dug around like she was looking for the Holy Grail, trying to give herself time to regain some sort of composure, or at the very least lose the red face, before he reached her bench..   
  
She put her bag aside and after taking a breath, looked up to find the man standing silently before her, smirking, his eyes filled more with curiosity than the amusement his smile revealed.   
  
“I hope my son thanked you. We’ve been working on manners lately,” she confided to him, putting her sunglasses on top of her head.  
  
“He did indeed thank me,” he said with a grin. “But he also told me he was saying it so his mommy would get him a puppy.”  
  
“Well, we’ve never been able to get a handle on what’s appropriate to say to strangers,” Rachel said, shaking her head and smiling. “Can’t have it all I suppose.”  
  
“Guess not. You mind?” he asked and gestured to the bench. She shook her head and he sat down next to her. They sat for a moment silently watching as Julian kicked his ball at a tree and then chased after it when he missed his target.   
  
“James,” he said sticking out his hand.  
  
“Rachel,” she replied, clasping his hand. “And you already meat Julian.”  
  
“Julian?” He seemed to get a nostalgic look on face, his eyes squinting for a moment before smiling sadly, letting what looked like relief spread across his face and down into his body. His shoulders relaxed and his whole demeanor seemed to open up. “It’s a good name.”  
  
“Thank you.” She had a suspicion that if she could look in a mirror right now, their expressions would be nearly the same. “You have any kids?”  
  
“Uh, yeah. Just one.” His face had gone from soft to hard in an instant, and though something told her she shouldn’t push it, a louder voice was telling her to be nosey, that maybe he needed someone to pry, to ask the questions he didn’t want to ask himself.   
  
“Girl or boy?” He looked at her, his face practically a mask, before looking away across the park.  
  
“A little girl. She’s probably not much older than your little Beckham there.”  
  
“You don’t get to see her that much?” She asked it gently and quietly, leaning towards him.   
  
“Believe me, she’s better off that way.” If he looked sad, it was all in the clinch of his jaw, and he watched Julian and another boy run after the ball.  
  
“Oh, I doubt that.” Afterward, she couldn’t tell you what possessed her, but she put a hand on his arm lightly and gave him advice the way she would a friend. “Look, I don’t know you. You don’t know me, but trust me, you don’t want to lose the chance to know your child. And more importantly, don’t let your daughter lose the chance to know you.” He looked from her hand on his arm to her eyes. “She’s too young to be able to do anything about it, but you aren’t.”  
  
Rachel thought for a moment that James might get up and walk away, or that he’d tell her none of this was her business. Judging by the tilt of his brow, she thought he might even get violent. Instead his features softened as if the hard clay mask he was wearing had just been soaked in water, and, to her surprise, he laughed.  
  
“Man, do I miss someone tellin’ me the stuff I don’t want to hear!” He put his hand over hers and squeezed. “Thanks.”   
  
He was on his feet before she could shake the dumbfounded off her face. “You got a good kid there. Do me a favor and get him that puppy?” She nodded, still unsure of what just happened, and he smiled as he turned to walk away. “A boy needs his dog!”  
  
She looked over to see that Julian had abandoned his ball to go down the slide with his new friend, and when she looked back towards the gravel path, she watched James round a corner and walk out of sight. She couldn’t help smiling and laughing to herself, thinking that it would be awfully hard to dig yourself out of those dimples once you fell in. Not that you’d want to.


End file.
